February 12, 2008

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With the Senate holding a number of bruising votes on Wednesday related to amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the House Democratic leadership is pushing for a three-week extension of the Protect America Act in order to evaluate the Senate-approved FISA changes.

The Protect America Act, passed last July by Congress, grants President Bush with enhanced surveillance authority, but it expires on Feb. 15. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wants to House "review those changes in a bipartisan manner," said a Democratic leadership aide, thus not having to approve under the deadline of the PAA's expiration.

The Senate voted on Tuesday by a 68-29 to approve a revised FISA bill, rejecting repeated Democratic attempts to strip language granting retroactive legal immunity to telecom companies that cooperated with the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program. The House-passed version of the new FISA bill does not include retroactive immunity. Bush has threatened to veto any FISA bill that does not include that provision, and it is unclear if the White House will oppose another PAA extension. GOP leaders prefer to see the House take up the Senate-passed FISA bill and approve it, but opposition among House Democrats to the telecom immunity provision is strong.